Spotlight on International Indirect Tax Expert Alex Baulf

Our Spotlight series highlights the careers and lives of tax professionals across the globe. This week’s Spotlight is on Alex Baulf, an international indirect tax expert who is the senior director of global indirect tax at Avalara.

Baulf started his tax advisory career at Deloitte and was on the global indirect tax leadership team at Grant Thornton before joining tax technology company Avalara in November 2021. He has been involved with large indirect tax change management and tax transformation projects, including helping clients prepare for value-added taxes in the Gulf states.

He speaks regularly at conferences, symposiums, and events and has written articles and blogs on VAT and good and services taxes. He also sits on a number of working groups and committees, including the European Commission’s e-invoicing technical advisory group.

Baulf lives in the West Sussex countryside in England with his wife and young son. When he’s not working, you may find him watching England play cricket—or playing a match himself when he can.

What’s your official title and what does it mean? It’s senior director, global indirect tax. I’m the lead VAT/GST subject matter expert, responsible for tracking major international indirect tax and e-invoicing legislation and policy, as well as parsing and articulating the impact across Avalara. I spend time speaking with governments, tax authorities, policymakers, academia, and the media, as well as with our largest customers and partners.

Free time: book, audiobook, or podcast? Generally, a good podcast as its easy to dip in and out of, especially when traveling.

Tax is a huge subject. What’s your area of special interest? International indirect tax—global VAT/GST and e-invoicing.

What’s the last movie or show that you watched and loved (DVD, Netflix, or in the theater)? “Ozark"—I thought it had great performances and cinematography and was a show that continued to surprise all the way through to the finale! With my professional hat on, the money-laundering angle really highlighted why businesses need good controls and why governments are looking for greater viability at a transactional level to reduce fraud.

What college did you attend and what did you study? Durham University in the UK, studying modern history.

Go to pick-me-up: Coffee or tea? Definitely coffee—an espresso or a cortado.

What’s the best tax or financial advice that anyone ever gave you? The best financial advice was, “Don’t live a champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget!” That equally applies to personal expenditure or in business. The best tax advice came from a former mentor—that tax law itself isn’t always the complex bit of advising a client. The hardest part of tax advisory is understanding what is happening commercially, understanding the business model or supply chain, and details of the parties, goods, or services involved. Don’t reach for the legislation and try to apply the law until you have full clarity on background. This is also the case with tax technology—to automate, you really need all the relevant master and transactional data before you can apply rules or logic to calculate or report the tax accurately.

If you weren’t working in the tax profession, what would your dream job be? Traveling the world as a professional cricketer, chasing the dream of an endless summer. Maybe that dream has ended now, but I’d settle for being a sports photographer.

If you had the opportunity to make one change in the tax world - an extra credit, a disallowed deduction, whatever - what would it be? A general “reverse charge” (a tax self-assessed by the customer rather than charged by the supplier) for B2B supplies of goods and services to avoid businesses having to register in a foreign jurisdiction for one-off or infrequent transactions. VAT or GST shouldn’t be a cost for most businesses, as they’re generally entitled to an input tax credit. However, complying with local tax requirements can be complex and difficult to meet, and any tax charged, collected, and paid over to a tax authority would ultimately be reclaimed by the customer.

Favorite food, snack, or candy during tax season or other busy time? Pizza—Chicago deep-dish style (a reminder from my time in the Windy City earlier in my career).

What tax news or move made the most impact on your practice or clients this past year? E-invoicing. Almost every week, another country has announced that it will introduce mandatory e-invoicing or e-reporting of invoice data. This is the clear direction of travel for indirect tax compliance globally, and our customers and partners (including ERPs and marketplaces) are now viewing e-invoicing as an increasingly business critical issue, requiring a strategic approach, and are looking for a single, scalable process and technology solution. The recent “VAT in the Digital Age” proposal from the European Commission is looking to remove the barriers holding back businesses and member states from adopting e-invoicing and will mandate e-invoicing and real-time digital reporting of invoice data across the EU from January 2028.

If you received a big tax refund check right now, what would you do with it? I love traveling, and I’m fortunate enough to regularly travel on business and speak across the globe on tax policy, tax technology, and e-invoicing. However, there are some exotic destinations on my bucket list that I’d love to visit and enjoy some relaxing time with the family—the tax refund might fund a super vacation.

You can learn more about Baulf on LinkedIn and on Twitter at @vatgst.

You can find out more about Baulf’s company, Avalara, on its website.

If you’d like to recommend a tax pro to be featured, send your suggestion to rbaker@bloombergindustry.com with the subject: Spotlight. Please include the following information: tax professional’s name, title, email address, and geographic area (city/state/country).